


Keep Holding On

by susiephalange



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, End of the World, F/M, Female!Reader - Freeform, Fluff, In the Maze, Pre-The Maze Runner, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-06-06
Packaged: 2018-07-12 18:44:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7118071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/susiephalange/pseuds/susiephalange
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reader loves Newt possibly more than anything else. And so does he.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Greenbean

To say it all began when you arrived would be an overestimation of the fear of young boys trapped inside a maze. It was early, and the pattern for genders appearing for them hadn't been made. You weren't a hallmark moment for the leader, Alby, and you weren't a burden for your newly made friends and the Glade itself.

Although you thought yourself to not be a hallmark occasion, it would seem that a kind, blond, English-lilting young boy your age would believe so.

He even amended the common nickname for newcomers for you; and thusly, even after you remembered your name ( ________ ), he still called you it.

"Can't sleep, Greenbean?"

If you could attribute three skills to yourself; your first skill would be to your ability to do your job quicker than any other Glade-dweller. Two would be the ability to sleep while in the proximity of such a specimen of a human being lay with his powdery yellow hammock-hair nearby. And three would be able to turn gracefully in your hammock.

But none of these skills applied to you.

"Newt?" You whispered.

"Yeah, Greenbean?" He murmured. "Want to share my hammock?"

You felt a ripe blush roar over your cheeks. "I'm - not sure," you hissed through your teeth. "I still won't be able to sleep."

You heard Newt's chuckle. "Why?"

Did you have to reply? You thought it was obvious. "Because then I'd staying awake with your heartbeat, you nong." You squeeze your eyes. _Nong_? What kind of word was that? "Not that I'm -,"

You felt your hammock twist and sway slightly, and then in the moon's light, Newt's silhouette was peering in to see you.

"Nong?" He questions. "Shove over. We're going to snuggle, Greenbean."

Nights passed like this for week, and then months. Days were filled with side glances and cheesy smiles and the other boys seeing a connection between the two of you that you were sure Newt couldn't find.

"Why're you always called Greenbean for 'im?" Winton wondered.

You crinkled your nose in thought. "I'm not sure," you reply. "He's just into calling me that. It's not demeaning or anything," you add quickly.

Winston agrees. "Yeah, it's like a nickname for you. Tell you, if I was being called ' _Greenie_ ' or ' _Greenbean_ ' all the time, I'd get sick of it." He confides.

You shake your head. "I like it. It's cute from Newt."

Zart darted inside, catching the last of what you were saying. "Hey, that rhymes!" He laughed. "So, ______, when are you and Newt gonna hook up? Every damn time either of you comes to my end of the Glade, I swear, I could take one of Frypan's knives and cut the tension -,"

You laugh. "I'm sure I'm the only one feeling that way, Zart." Winston gives you a glance. "I mean, he hasn't really made it clear that he likes me. Y'know, more than a shucking friend."

The boys shrug. "Whatever you think."

Later on, you run into Gally outside the Slammers, nearly toppling over after impact. "Hang on there," he chuckles lowly. "What's the rush? Did Newt call you over?"

A blush ripens your cheeks. "It's not - I'm not -,"

The Glader's undefeated wrestler eyed you, and slowly blinked. "Uh-huh," he nodded sarcastically. "I'm sure it isn't."

"Isn't what?" You jump. It's Newt.

"Raining!" You blurt, and immediate regret speaking and want to vow never to speak again for the rest of your life to prevent further embarrassment.

Newt seems confused at first, but nods. "Right you are, _______. I couldn't find you anywhere earlier, but I wanted to know if you wanted to sit with me at dinner. If you'd like."

"Sure!" You beam, watching Newt continue on his way. "I'll see you then!"

"It's not what, ay?" Gally asks you dryly, lip quirked up into a the beginnings of what could be a smile.

It was later that night, well after dinner, well into the darkness that followed suit whence the sun made its absence when your pulse settled down. It was when you lay awake in your hammock and contemplated why exactly that Newt made you feel like a ride down a slippery slide that Clint and Jeff had made once (and consequently, had to attend to everyone who fell off it). Why Newt made your head spin and cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Why you couldn't get the fact out that you loved -

Love? 

The voice in your mind sounded doubtful. But it was right. This was love.

"Can't sleep Greenbean?" Newt whispered.

"How'd you know?" you murmured. "Join me?"

You barely heard his even footsteps, counting each footfall until he reached your hammock. "I thought you'd never ask."


	2. Survive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Endgame approaches: where is Newt?

It had been a peaceful day. The sun has risen. Frypan had made eggs, and you and your boyfriend Newt, Alby's second in charge had worked together in the orchard - you with a backhoe, and he with a basket of seeds.

It had been a calm day. A perfect day.

After gardening, Newt had to follow Alby around, and suggested you to go have a lie down in the hammocks. Tiredly, you accepted. Being on backhoe for the first time was exhausting.

You dreamed silent dreams of yourself and Newt in a paradise - one not surrounded by masses of boys, one not stuck in a maze filled with horrifying creatures within.

" _The maze hasn't shut_!" A boy's shout echoed in the Glade.

From your dreams you jolted awake, wondering if what you had heard wasn't real or not. Slowly looking around the homestead - the sky had turned grey outside, how long had you slept? - a chill ran down your spine, and fear fed your stomach to turmoil. Ever since you had appeared in The Box with your memory missing into a world of boys, this had been your worst night horror that would haunt your earlier dreamed dreams.

Shakily, you climbed from your hammock, and joined the melee of fearful boys, and a stunned, speechless Therese.

"Newt?" You called, standing on tiptoe, hoping your boyfriend would hear you over the hubbub. "Newt!"

But before you could hear his reply - Newt would _always_ hear you, you heard an outraged roar from Gally, "This is all the Greenie's fault! He -,"

With a sudden burst of bravery that wouldn't come usually, you raised your voice, "Quit it, Gally, the maze is left open! We have to work with it whats going on, not lay blame!"

The scarily eyebrowed boy gave you a piercing glare, gravitating toward you in the crowd of frightened boys, "If you weren't Newt's girl, ______ -," he jabbed his finger toward your chest, almost touching you when you heard,

"Gally, let _______ alone," you heard Alby's deep voice frown.

"________! There you are!"

Turning, you saw Newt pushing through the mass of Gladers with Minho tailing behind him. At the same moment, a _click whirl_ of a Griever and an unearthly wail fill the Glade and you felt that bravery of that moment disappear.

"Newt!" You cried out, rushing to him, ignoring the grunt from Minho about the unappreciated PDA, "I'm scared," you whispered into his neck, trying your best not to shake.

"No, it's okay, ______, we can get through this." He kissed under your ear, hugging you fiercely, "You and I have been here for ages, we can -," Newt's voice waved, his body stiffening.

 _Survive_?

"Newt?" You tried to withdraw from his embrace, but his arms kept you close to his heart. "Is something there?"

He gave a shaky laugh, "Yeah, there is. Just come with me...we'll live through this."

Taking a deep breath, you nodded. "I believe you."

Another terrifying screech filled the air, but determined by Newt's word's, you did your best not to be afraid. Even if the end was upon everyone.


	3. Stick Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Escape plans are in place for action.

Night had fallen. It was darker than any other you'd experienced in the Glade - the stars were gone, and there was no moon. There was only hushed, fear-filled murmurs from the boys hiding from the Grievers and the thrum of your heartbeat in your chest as you clung to Newt's arm, waiting the attack out.

You became more afraid with every passing second. How was that possible? But you trembled. You but your lip to stop yourself from crying, from making a noise that could give your group away to the Grievers. As much as you were scared, you needed to be the strong second in charge's girlfriend.

"Where's Alby?" You asked Newt quietly. It wasn't in the way he was quiet that made the answer clear. Or how everyone else's blank stares and empty feelings gave it away. Alby was gone. And that left Newt in charge. "Newt, what do we do?"

He turned to you. It was then you realised; the boy you had fell in love with, the one whose limp reminded him everyday of that horrid time, the one who never failed to bring a smile to your face or share some of Gally's liquid at a Greenie bonfire; that boy was gone. And left: was a man.

A scared man.

"I don't know," he whispered.

"It was Thomas' fault!" Gally screamed.

"Shuck you, Gally, how could the doors closing be Thomas' fault? He ain't the one with a remote control making them open and shut," Minho quipped.

"Yeah," Frypan backed up.

You turned from the hubub back to Newt, reaching to cradle his face, hold him close to you. The two of you had survived the Greiver attack. Many other boys hadn't. You were lucky there hadn't been any more casualties than there had, and for that, you wanted Newt to make sure he knew you were glad. But as you went to do these things, make sure he felt loved, he stood, and went to break up the fight. You didn't think as you moved to follow him as he went to lay justice and put Gally back in his place, but as you felt a hand on your arm - Teresa's - your mind snapped back.

If you had taken another step, Gally's fist would have hit your head. Hard.

"Thanks," you whispered, "I -,"

"Don't mention it," she murmured, "Just looking out for you."

A wash of relief filled you; after living through a night like what all the Gladers had, the prospect of being hit by Gally to top it off would be the worst thing you could think of. "I mean it, Teresa, thank you." You turned and hugged her, feeling the pair of you take a deep breath - probably the first proper inhalation since the terror-filled nightmare of a night that had cost the lives of so many Gladers.

"You'd do the same for me, admit it," she smiled playfully, withdrawing from the embrace.

You nodded.

"_______, stay by me, I don't want to loose you," Newt called to you.

Jogging over to where Newt stood, you sidled up with him, resting your head against his side, doing your best not to shiver from both the cold weather that had set in and the fear of the unknown prospect of the future. "I'm afraid." you mumbled, hoping he wouldn't have heard you. He was the leader now Alby was gone. There was no way to admit otherwise. He didn't have the time to deal with your fears.

"It's okay, ______," he turned to you, kissing the top of your head, "We'll make it through this. I promise, we will. We love each other too much for anything bad to happen."

You smiled to yourself, and looked up into his beautiful eyes, now filled with an overwhelming amount of responsibility, concern and care. "That's true, Newtie," you kissed his shoulder, and reaching up, tugged his hair so you could reach his lips to kiss.

"We just need to stick together," he took a deep breath, "That's how we'll all survive."

"Yeah," you agreed. "Even if the Maze is scary and Gally's a hard-headed shuck-face, we'll stick together."


	4. Hotter Than Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Out in the scorch, there's nothing worse...

You used to think that those rare sunny days in the Glade when it got to that stinking hot humid way where the boys had to peel of their shirts to work comfortably and you sitting in the shade watching Newt work was hot.

You were so completely and utterly wrong.

Hot was your tongue, thick and dry in your mouth.

Hot was going to sleep with your mouth closed and the skin on your lips fusing together.

Hot was the intense sun, beating down on your back, heating you up like a pot of Frypan's special soup, eating you from the outside in.

All the time, you were looking to Newt in hope that he had an inkling for what the group was supposed to do, go, be - now they'd all escaped, you couldn't shake the feeling of what was happening to you all. Zart, turned into that monster they called Cranks. Everyone falling like flies where they walked from exhaustion.

"You're still awake, _________, aren't you?" You heard Newt whisper to you. It was day, and after Thomas' good idea for walking in the night, everyone was taking a kip. Well, except for you and Newt.

"I can't sleep in this heat," you whisper back.

He hums in agreement.

Turning, you see his angelic face, watching you. "I can't snuggle with you in this heat," you add, "I can't think in it, I can't eat in it. It's like hell, Newt," you shake, thinking to all the horrible things you've seen lately. Gally, Chuck. The man who looked like a rat, Group B, the nightmares that come when you finally do sleep. "What if we're already been killed, and this is hell?"

He shakes his head. "That's absurd, __________, we haven't died. We're survivors, you and I. We'll get out of here." He reaches out to trace patterns on your palm. "I promise."

If it wasn't so humid, you'd be crying hot tears now. But you aren't, and your voice hitches anyway. "How can you?" You whisper.

Newt smiles that kind smile that only he can do. "Trust me."

That night, it falls quicker than any of the other days before. And so do you. It seems tonight, your body is too tired for this. Head over heels, down the dunes, you fall, with the boys chasing after you. You can tell they want you to be left behind. But Newt doesn't allow it.

Minho and he help you walk.

As days pass, they find more water. You grow stronger.

Thomas disappears.

It's so hot.

Hotter than your feet inside socks that feel like they're swimming in sweat.

Hotter than your brain, which boils in your skull.

It's so hot, and you know everyone's feeling like this.

"Leave me here," you tell Newt after a bad collapse. "I'm useless. All my tag said was Group A, 'the air'."

Newt refuses, and Minho gives you a piggyback ride for as long as he can the rest of that night. "We need you, ________. To breathe. Without you, we can't be Gladers. We're just boys and Therese all fighting to stay alive." He pauses, and kisses your brow. "If anything, nobody needs me. I'm just a limping excuse."

You wanted to tell him _no, no, Newt, you're not that, you're the one who I love, who everyone looks to. You're not worthless. I am._

But you fall asleep.

In your dreams, it isn't hot. It's...normal. You don't have memories of before the Glade, but you think they are from then. There's a screen door and a little doggy door, and an inflatable pool on the grass in the yard. In the kitchen, making the world's best grilled cheese (you wonder what that is, and how you know this food's name) is Newt, dressed in an apron. He turns to you, and passes the sandwich.

" _Where's Lia?"_ He asks.

You frown. Lia?

A little girl runs from nowhere, and flings herself toward Newt. " _Daddy!_ " She screams. " _Sandwich, sandwich!_ " She chants. She's no older than three.

You can't shake it. This can't be real, it's - by the stove, Newt drops the frying pan on his foot, and you run to it, and grab the pan with your hands. It's hot, hot, hot, so hot, too hot. Hotter than hell.

You don't cry. Newt doesn't either.

" _Mummy_?" The little girl flickers where she stands, like a candle in a windy room. Or a hologram. " _Daddy_?" She looks at your hands, his foot, and screams. " _Hot! Hot! Hot_!"

You wake with a start.

"___________?" You hear Newt whisper. "Nightmare?"

You're not sure. Either one seems to be one.

**Author's Note:**

> ♡
> 
> If you have any requests, find me on Tumblr at @susiephalange, or [@phalangewrites](https://phalangewrites.tumblr.com/request_conditions) ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ✿


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